Social Listening has undergone numerous changes since its emergence in the mid-2000s, and 2018 marked a turning point with several notable acquisitions.
This consolidation does not necessarily make it easier for marketing and digital departments to navigate this market and choose the right partner for consumer listening on the web.
Social listening technologies rely primarily on data from social networks, raising questions about their future and the reliability of the data retrieved.
How can companies ensure they are paying a fair price? And more importantly, how can they integrate listening data with data from other marketing tools (analytics, reviews, etc.) to derive value and anticipate future trends?
Marketing Technologies: Social Listening - A Market Rooted in Bad Buzz
The first players in social listening emerged with the development of Web 2.0, characterized by the use of forums and blogs. This shift from a static web to a social web allowed internet users to contribute information and interact.
This transformation brought brands face-to-face with their consumers, leading to early bad buzz incidents like the one that affected Dell in 2005. At the time, Dell ignored online chatter and failed to respond. Such incidents pushed brands to adopt preventive tools, initially referred to as monitoring, surveillance, or e-reputation tools. The rise of social networks (especially Facebook and Twitter) and the introduction of the first iPhone in 2007 amplified this phenomenon, connecting consumers everywhere and at all times.
Early Funding and Growth Race
The early 2010s marked a new era for social listening with significant initial funding rounds, acquisitions, market expansions, and the first wave of market exits.
In 2011, Salesforce acquired Radian6 for $276 million, integrating it into its Marketing Cloud and dissolving the leading tool of the time. Brandwatch raised $6 million in 2012, followed by $22 million in 2014 and $33 million in 2015. Crimson Hexagon completed seven funding rounds totaling over $30 million by 2016.
Notably, several market leaders were French. Digimind, a pioneer in monitoring (founded in 1998), embraced social media in 2013. Synthesio raised $14 million in 2014 to expand into the U.S., followed by Talkwalker a year later. During this period, Linkfluence acquired its competitor TrendyBuzz and expanded into Asia with offices in Singapore and Shanghai.
At this time, social networks had relatively "open" data access policies. Twitter's data costs were manageable for most players, while Facebook explored anonymized data models. Brands were listening to their audiences, seeking insights and future trends. The market evolved into social listening and eventually Social Media Intelligence.
2018: A Year of Profound Changes
The past year marked a second phase of market consolidation. In January, Talkwalker became U.S.-owned, followed by the merger of Meltwater and Sysomos in late Q1. In September, Mention was acquired by Swedish company Mynewsdesk, and Linkfluence acquired Scoop.it to establish a foothold in Silicon Valley. In October, Crimson Hexagon joined Brandwatch (two leading market players), and Synthesio was acquired by Ipsos in November, likely to integrate social web data into opinion surveys. The year concluded with Falcon.io's acquisition by Cision.
These movements are likely not over, as companies from adjacent categories may seek to add listening capabilities to their suites. Lithium, after acquiring Spredfast, a customer engagement specialist, might be tempted to add a listening tool to its suite. Similarly, Sprinklr, a leader in Social Media Management, may find its listening capabilities a valuable addition.
The Future of Social Listening and Marketing Technologies
The main uncertainty and challenge involve data access. Instagram has closed its API, limiting automatic connections to the network and potentially reducing data volumes by 30-40%. Following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook's anonymized data project is no longer viable. Twitter has also significantly increased its data costs, challenging the economic model of market players. Twitter's renewed health has led to a more exclusive partnership policy, with only select vendors retaining comprehensive data access. Twitter data represents 40-70% of the total data captured and stored by listening technologies, highlighting its critical importance.
This dual constraint of data scarcity and rising costs is pushing social listening vendors to create product spin-offs in adjacent categories. Emerging offerings include:
- "Search Social Media" (simple boolean queries similar to Google on social media archives, allowing vendors to monetize stored data)
- "Influencer Marketing" based on social networks
- Social Media Analytics
While market consolidation is expected to continue, a winner-takes-all scenario is unlikely. This is due to the presence of numerous local players and the need for specialized solutions in exotic markets (language nuances, cultural specifics). Additionally, consulting and support remain essential for brands, extending beyond purely software aspects.
Despite its unique characteristics and complexities, Social Listening is just one sector among many in the Martech space that has exploded in recent years.
According to a Forrester study, 74% of Chief Marketing Officers and Chief Digital Officers have adopted a "technology stack" approach, seeking to assemble the best SaaS solutions in their respective fields to address Customer Journey challenges.
According to ChiefMartec.com, the number of marketing SaaS solutions has grown from 150 in 2011 to over 7,000 in 2018, a 4,700% increase! The site now categorizes six major technology families and nearly 60 sub-families, with Social Listening being just one of them.
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